Hot Races 2014: Trade Groups Drive Outside Spending in Idaho

Outside money is pouring into the Republican primary race for Idaho’s 2nd District congressional seat, but it’s not coming just from the big-spending, ideologically-driven groups that have been prominent in some other GOP primaries. Instead, an unlikely source of campaign cash has played a significant role in the race: the PACs of industry and trade organizations.

The primary is a two-man race similar to many across the country: Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), the incumbent, establishment Republican facing off against the more conservative, tea party-backed attorney Bryan Smith. Simpson is in his eighth term in the House, but his hold on the seat has grown shaky in recent years due to his support for the 2008 TARP bank bailout — a vote that led some to question his conservative credentials.

Already, outside groups have poured nearly $2.3 million into the campaign, more than they’ve poured into any other House primary in the country. The candidates themselves have raised only slightly more than that, and spent about $1.1 million.

The race has seen the typical, large conservative groups get involved in support of Smith. Club for Growth Action, the super PAC of the conservative Club for Growth, has spent nearly $480,000, continually attacking Simpson as a liberal.

“Simpson teamed up with Democrats to support a bigger Obama stimulus bill, and spend millions on a park in Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco,” a March 2014 ad says. “Mike Simpson: just too liberal.”

The fight has escalated in recent months, with outside groups attacking each other in addition to the candidates. The clearest example of this was in mid-April, when the Defending Main Street PAC, which was specifically formed to fight tea party-backed challengers, came on the airwaves with an ad supporting Simpson that was mostly an attack on Club for Growth President and former Rep. Chris Chocola (R-Ind.), criticizing his group for spending more money attacking Republicans than Democrats.

“Meet the D.C. insider launching misleading attacks about Mike Simpson,” the ad says, displaying an image of Chocola. The ad then quotes Chocola saying, “the person who I respect the most in Washington, it may surprise you, is Nancy Pelosi.” The group has spent more than $400,000 in the race, while the business-aligned U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also thrown in $600,000 behind Simpson.

Industry groups battle back

But unlike in most races, Defending Main Street and the Chamber have been joined not by giant establishment-sided groups like American Crossroads, but by several industry trade groups, which don’t often get involved in primaries.

Organizations like the National Association of Realtors and the American Dental Association have launched TV and other ad campaigns in recent months supporting Simpson. Together, the two groups have spent more than half-a-million dollars on the race, helping to counter the attacks of more ideological conservative groups.

Why? For the American Dental Association and American Hospital Association, which have spent more than $400,000 combined in the race, the answer is simple. Before entering Congress, Simpson worked at his family’s dental practice for more than 20 years. That background, combined with a competitive primary, led Mike Graham, the ADA’s senior vice president of government and public affairs, to say, “we’ll try to raise as much as we can for him.”

The National Association of Realtors, meanwhile, which has spent nearly $300,000 supporting Simpson, says it was motivated by his support for business.

“Well, he’s got a two-decade track record in Congress. And even before that, he’s been a champion of Realtors,” said Scott Reiter, vice president for disbursements at RPAC, the group’s political action committee. “This is really his first competitive primary, so we decided to jump in.”

Participation by the three trade groups in the general election will likely be significant, if data from the 2012 cycle is any indication. That year, both the AHA and the Realtors reported spending in the millions, led by the Realtors’ group, which poured $8.2 million into various races.

Robbie joined the Center for Responsive Politics as a reporting intern in January 2014. Before coming to CRP, Robbie worked in both print and radio journalism, first with the political factchecking website PolitiFact.com, and most recently as a public radio reporter in Cape Cod and Alaska. He is currently a senior at the University of Maryland and plans to graduate in May with a B.A. in journalism.

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